In the 12-year period of 2005 through 2016, canines killed 392 Americans. Pit bulls contributed to 65% (254) of these deaths. Combined, pit bulls and rottweilers contributed to 76% of the total recorded deaths. | More »

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Uncooperative OwnerUPDATE 02/18/09: After his pit bull violently attacked his mother, Lorrie Ellis, causing severe injury on February 8, Jeffrey J. Kirlin, 25, has refused to meet with investigators. According to a Humane Society statement issued today, investigators have asked the city prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant for Kirlin. Official intend to cite Kirlin on suspicion of not having proper license and vaccination on the dog, as well as insurance, which is a new requirement for all pit bulls residing in the City of Omaha.

02/09/09: Pit Bull Fought to the "Very End"
Omaha, NE - In October, Omaha firefighters received special training for the purpose of dealing with dangerous dogs (pit bulls) at rescue scenes. In instances when police and animal control have not yet arrived to control the dog, firefighters cannot render first aid until they get past the pit bull. On Sunday, firefighters were required to use these new skills. After they managed to place the loop at the end of a metal pole around the pit bull's neck, the dog thrashed around wildly. It even bent the pole before finally choking itself to death.

Summary of Attack:

Just before 6 p.m., a pit bull named Caesar growled at an infant in the living room of a home. 48-year-old Lorrie Ellis was attacked when she tried to distract the dog from the baby. Ellis fled to the bathroom after being attacked by the 95-pound, three-year-old male pit bull. Shouts of Ellis crying for help could be heard in the 911 call made by the girlfriend of the dog's owner, Ellis' son. When firefighters arrived, Ellis had pinned the dog against the door of the bathroom. The dog's body was in the hallway and the head was in the bathroom. The dog was still after the victim.One firefighter held the door closed to keep the dog pinned. Firefighter Stan Shearer used a metal pole with a loop on the end of it in an attempt to secure the pit bull. But the loop wouldn't go over the dog's head completely because the door jam was in the way. Shearer had to bend down and slip the loop over the dog's head while a third firefighter tightened it. The dog went berserk. Two firefighters had to wrestle with the dog to restrain it so that rescuers with paramedic training could attend to Ellis. The struggle was so intense and the dog so strong that the metal pole was bent.

Ellis was critically injured in the attack. She underwent surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for injuries to her neck and arms. She was listed in fair condition today. The pit bull had reportedly bitten someone last November, but the incident went unreported. The son, who was not identified, will be cited for failing to license or vaccinate the dog. He also will be cited for not purchasing $100,000 in liability insurance for the pit bull, a rule adopted by the City of Omaha last year after a series of pit bull attacks.

Ellis' son, the girlfriend and their seven-month-old baby were temporarily staying with Ellis. Family members declined interview requests.

[Caller] I'm at my baby's dad's house and the dog just attacked a lady. I cannot get him off of her and there is blood everywhere.
[911] What kind of dog is it?
[Caller: It's a pit bull.
[911] Is it still attacking the female?
[Caller] Yes. My daughter is inside locked in the bedroom. I cannot get this dog off this lady and there is blood everywhere.
[911] Okay, where is it latched onto the lady? Where?
[Caller] Um, on her arm. It bit her neck. There is blood coming from everywhere. I cannot get this dog off of her.
* * *
[911] Where's the dog?
[Caller] He is trapped in the bedroom with, or in the bathroom with him. She has a hold of him but he is still biting her. My seven-month-old daughter is in the other bedroom. I cannot get to her.
* * *
[911] Everybody is on their way. The fire department and the police department.
[Caller] Honey, I'm coming!
[Woman in background screaming] Get him out of here.
* * *
[911] Who is yelling?
[Caller] The lady is yelling telling me to get the dog. I can't get the dog, Lorrie! The cops are coming, just hold him.

Post a Comment

14 comments:

Anonymous | 2/09/2009 4:39 PM | FlagGood God. This proves my point about the grandmother in the UK who just lost her three month old grandson to her "staffy"---if an animal of this type decides to attack, no amount of "supervision" is going to help. Someone is going to get mauled. Obviously in this case if the dog had lunged for the baby before it growled then the baby would be dead now. We need to demand of the dog experts and vets that they tell the truth about pit bulls and other "bully" breeds. They are unpredictable and if they do attack, the damage will be unfathomable. They are unstoppable without a gun unless they decide to end the attack. The poor grandmother---she protects the baby and then the baby's mom leaves granny to be killed by her dog.

Anonymous | 2/09/2009 6:10 PM | FlagIn the 911 call, the baby's mother continuously refers to Lorrie as "the lady." The mother doesn't save her baby either. A neighbor comes into the home to do this...This is truly a horrific scene. Press reports are already blaming Lorrie for the attack, saying that "admonishing" the animal for growling at the baby must have caused the attack. Lorrie likely saved that baby's life. She'll have a lot of scars because of it as well.

The first priority is to stop any attack. If need be, use a gun, a knife, any weapon at your disposal that you can competently handle. If you use reasonable caution to aid others, your actions are protected under 'Good Samaritan Laws,’ even if you have been cautioned against such action by a 911 dispatcher. 911 dispatchers have been trained to advise against counter aggression in every case, a protocol which is rooted in municipal liability concerns.

Your quick action can significantly reduce injury to the victim, possibly saving a limb or even their life.

(I highly recommend an NRA course for everyone. An understanding of frangible loads vs. full metal jacket, projectile exit paths, etc., would be very worthwhile in every case. 911 protocols assume you have no such training, and that you are potentially more harmful than helpful.)

Anonymous | 2/09/2009 10:42 PM | Flag"Behavioral specialists at the humane society say there are strong warning signs pit bulls and other breeds will display before they attack." http://www.kptm.com/Global/story.asp?S=9815553&nav=menu606_2

Yikes, another clueless "behavioral specialist" yammering off the dumbest of pro pit talking points! Even the pit attack enablers over at Pit Bull Rescue Central say, "Warning signs can be very subtle with Pit Bulls and even completely absent in certain cases." http://www.pbrc.net/fightinfo.html

Anonymous | 2/10/2009 3:23 PM | FlagWord is, the pit bull owner is a true scumbag with a violent history. The person who was bitten may have feared for his or her life. This is often why bite victims do not come forward. It's a terrible shame.

Pit bull people have been allowed to break the law and sneak away for so long now.

Bet he thought if would all disappear if he skipped town for a while

Anonymous | 2/19/2009 7:42 PM | FlagI've seen an aggressive pit bull, the one I saw had it's hair up and was growling, so they don't all attack without warning. I personally want a ban with a grandfather clause, but I don't think rottweilers and dobermans should be thrown in. The majority of issues are pit bulls. The thing that really infuriates me is, we shouldn't even have these problems, people shouldn't be attacked and living with horrible injuries. They're just dogs and they don't know any better, but the "humans" who bred/breed them have made it impossible for them to have any future.